"An implicit coalition of corporate media, Democrat partisans and others loyal to the national security state are actively hostile to any agreement that would endanger the continuation of the 70-year-old Cold War between the US and North Korea..."

Despite their partisan rhetoric about "selling out to a dictator", I think the "elite coalition", were they in power, would be doing pretty much the same thing that Trump is doing on North Korea, which is more-or-less continuing a status quo that no one is really in any position to upend.

Anyway, a few dozen dead American soldiers from the Korean War have now been returned, which gives Trump the pretext to brag about how great he is at getting concessions from the DPRK. (I believe Carter, acting on behalf of Clinton, also got some bodies back in the early 90s, but see my previous point about the status quo.)

Let me explain, the biggest supporter of NK, China has veto power at the UN, second largest Russia also has veto at the UN. India, probably the third largest supporter of North Korea, if not the second? does not have veto (making the UN a racist peice of shit organization, but that's for another thread) So really, these countries only support the UN sanctions for show, in reality they give a ratts. As they should!

India comes right after China as North Korea's second-biggest trade partner among all other countries who maintain trade relations with the communist state. India makes up about 3.5 percent ($97 million, €83 million) of North Korea's exports and 3.1 percent ($97 million) of its imports, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Observatory of Economic Complexity.

Wait, what?

Their SECOND LARGEST trade partner amounts to about 3.5%?

I can scarcely imagine how little their sixth largest trade partner accounts for. Or their twelfth.

South Korean peace and justice activists have been writing to us at Popular Resistance complaining that the United States is not responding to the positive steps being taken by North Korea before and after the meeting between President Trump and Chairman Kim. They have sent us information about protests they are organizing in South Korea aginst the United States as well as in Washington, DC.

The activists argue that the temporary halt in war games which practice nuclear and other military attacks on North Korea are insufficient. They want to see movement toward a real peace treaty and removal of economic sanctions, especially allowing South Korea and North Korea to normalize relations. And, they want US military forces out of Korea, permanently.

On July 27, in a protest in front of the White House, South Korean activists claimed the June 12 agreement between North Korea and the United States called for normalizing relations between North Korea and the US and establishing a permanent and solid peace regime in Korea. They believe that to conclude North Korea-US peace treaty includes withdrawal of the US military from Korea as the core. They call on the Trump administration to fully implement the June 12 declaration and immediately withdraw US troops from South Korea. They pledge all-out national resistance against the United States, to advance the realization of the world where US troops are withdrawn, the Korean people are masters of their country, and the nation is reunified....

"Watch America's Meddling Machine, a documentary investigation into the National Endowment for Democracy. Filmed on Capitol Hill, Max Blumenthal shows how this US-funded group has interfered in elections and driven regime change operations around the globe."

"US President Donald Trump on Friday canceled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's upcoming fourth visit to North Korea next week, citing a lack of progress on Pyongyang's denuclearization. The decision coming only one day after Pompeo announced his trip, highlights the unpredictability of the Trump administration and the continual ramping up of tensions in Northeast Asia, aimed primarily at China.

In the same set of tweets canceling Pompeo's visit, Trump also denounced China, linking the growing trade war between Washington and Beijing with North Korea: 'Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading (sic) stance with China, I do not believe they are helping us with the process of denuclearization as they once were.'

Trump's agenda from the beginning was to issue Pyongyang an ultimatum: either join the US war drive against China, which would likely mean US troops on the Chinese border and even North Korea's own participation in such a war against its former ally, or the US would 'totally destroy' the poverty-stricken country as Trump had previously threatened. With the US-China trade war escalating and another Chinese delegation expected to arrive in Washington in the near future, Trump is leveraging North Korea against China to gain an upper hand in the talks..."

It's possible that Trump (or the US) wants to be central to the peace process. Trump may be worried that the US has lost control (or the perception of) of the peace process and that reunification of Korea will happen without the US. It actually makes sence because if Korea is able to brush aside the US and acomplish without the US's help, then this may be viewed as US weakness.

I don't think it's any coincidence that after hundreds of families have briefly united (and more planned) and the Korean people all have seen these images, that Trump is now trying to put the US back into center stage of the peace process. Using a delaying tactic is fairly safe for the time being. Flip side is that it gets old and predictable.

I don't think it's any coincidence that after hundreds of families have briefly united (and more planned) and the Korean people all have seen these images...

Just for the record, but these family reunions are not unprecedented. They've been taking place, albeit sporadically, since 2000. So the current images are not likely to be any sort of epiphany for most Koreans.

As for Trump, I've never quite bought the idea that he's a crazed warmonger, and I think that if he believes he can attain glory by seeming to preside over the end of the Korean War and the reunification of Korea, he'll happily grab the honour. I also think that, if Obama had made some sort of major advance in regards to peace on the peninsula, Trump would now be trying to wreck it.

"South Korean President Moon Jae-in has landed in Pyongyang for the historic summit with Kim Jong-un as part of the ongoing reconciliation process and talks on denuclearization of the peninsula. The South Korean president brought a large entourage of 110 delegates, including top business leaders, that will discuss strengthening ties between the neighbors..."

As long as the psycho Americans can be kept at bay, things are likely to go well.

"Everyone but the US believes that unilateral denuclearization is a fantasy and that only accepting peace can defuse the problem. If the haranguing by Washington continues, South Korea may well act on its own..."

North and South Korea are moving ahead with plans to build road and rail links as part of their historic peace talks. But the U.S. is standing in the way, as Trump refuses to lift sanctions and claims that the South Koreans “do nothing without our approval.” We speak to Col. Lawrence Wilkerson

"The White House announced today that the second summit between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place in late February at a yet-to-be determined location. Brian Becker speaks with Simon Chun, a fellow of the Korean Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network."

I came across this article while searching for something else. Out of curiosity, I read it and found it very interesting. It fits into the theory or belief I have that many Koreans want to realize a single Korea. No North /South divide.

Vietnam And Hanoi are in the lead for most likely host city for the next round of these historic peace talks. WOW! Who would of thought? Clearly Kim is is in control. We can have a huge debate about what the choice of host city could imply, I’m really surprised that it could be Hanoi!?!?

Ok thanks for that! I checked several links but found conflicting reports about the location. I briefly touched on this in my comment referring to sources. No biggie

Anyways, cmon man, Hanoi????? You don’t find that this location, a communist country that dealt the US it’s most humiliating defeat, the country where the US committed its most evil war crimes to be very odd?

You and other babblers must have something to say about Hanoi being the host ! Must!

I believe Vietnam these days has relatively cordial relations with the US, and at least two US presidents, Clinton and Obama, had previously visited the country for the specific purpose of meeting with Vietnamese leaders. So visiting to meet with other countries leaders wouldn't seem like too much of a tall order at all.

Likely, Vietnam was one of the countries most amenable to both parties in the summit.

The link I posted suggested Thailand and Hawaii were at one time suggested. Now Hawaii is probably a long shot that’s more like a joke.

I believe these host countries in the peace talks are suggestive how this will play out. So far all post colonial countries that have shared common interests in expelling western occupation.

Trump must see this. He must know he’s at a disadvantage. He’s getting played and is being strong armed by Kim.

I’m going to speculate that Trump is desperate for a Korea peace treaty and there is a greater than 50% chance we’ll see one leading up to the 2020 presidential campaigns. Trump needs a big win and I suspect Kim is going to make him pay a super hi premium for it!

The link I posted suggested Thailand and Hawaii were at one time suggested. Now Hawaii is probably a long shot that’s more like a joke.

I believe these host countries in the peace talks are suggestive how this will play out. So far all post colonial countries that have shared common interests in expelling western occupation.

Trump must see this. He must know he’s at a disadvantage. He’s getting played and is being strong armed by Kim.

This is kind of assuming that every time the US and Vietnam have some sort of involvement together, the Vietnam War is the big issue looming over everything. But if that were the case, I doubt you would have seen stuff like this happening...

The United States and Vietnam on Thursday signed a pact that would allow the transfer of nuclear technology to the Southeast Asian nation and open the way for U.S. investment in the burgeoning industry, in another sign that Washington is seeking stronger economic and strategic ties in the region.

Granted, this is just technology, not nuclear material per se, and presumably won't be used to develop weapons. But still, given the air of controversy that generally accompanies such deals undertaken with suspect states, I'd say Vietnam and the US are more-or-less back in each other's "We can do business together" column.

And I don't know if the average voter in the US is going to make connections like "Hmm, Singapore and Vietnam are both countries which kicked out colonial occupiers, what does this all mean?" And if the voters don't generally care, the politicians likely don't either.

I agree Hawaii wasn't a likely winner for the summit-hosting lottery, for the same reasons that Pyeongyang wouldn't be. I also agree that Trump REALLY wants some sort of positive agreement to come out of this, though as I've said before, the status quo is always the best bet on the Korean peninsula.

And let’s make something perfectly clear hear, millions of Vietnamese died. Agent orange/purple were used in arguably the most hideous war crimes in humanity! Children to this very day are still born suffering from the US criminal legacy.

Here’s a tweet of Trump ripping a fucking new asshole into another “ John McCainish” war pig!

I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?). His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders!

I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?). His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders!

Wow, that guy really is in a category of his own. He insults one his nation's own senators while on an official visit to a foreign country, and then brags that he had also been insulting him in a meeting with the leaders of said country?

Not that I'm complaining, in fact, as I've said before, his style is kind of refreshing. But definitely unique.

Although Vietnam and the US are indeed frirndly now, there is a nice irony to holding a meeting to resolve the Korean War (1950-53, and counting) in the capital of the country that hosted America's next big Asian war.

Well, if there is a third summit. We'll see what happens now that the last one ended on a low note.

Though I did see a headline saying that Trump "taken Kim Jong Un at his word" on the death of Otto Warmbier. Which sort of goes with what I was saying about Trump's rather idisoyncratic approach to int'l relations. Most politicians, if not getting what they want from their opposite number, wouldn't publically testify to his personal honesty on an unrelated matter.

The writer in the above article tries to label Kim and North Korea as evil and demanding, where Trump is vocalizing good “as expected” friendly progress. Basically it was a successful meeting that he’s going to stretch out to the next presidential elections

The possible locations of the third summit. So far it appears that Kim is the one making the list and or has the final say. Forget Europe North America China Russia Japan. It’s possible Kim wants it in a symbolic South East Asian/pacific country. But I suspect there’s flying through airspace of some nations not acceptable for either side so for example Laos Cambodia may not be considered?

We speak with Christine Ahn, founder and executive director of Women Cross DMZ, a global movement of women mobilizing to end the Korean War.

quote:

CHRISTINE AHN: And so, I mean, I want to first start by saying we don’t know what the full picture is. And, in fact, there have been now some reports coming out, especially from South Korea, the former minister of unification is suggesting that Bolton—of course—I mean, once we saw the picture of the table and we saw Pompeo and we saw Bolton, I mean, we had to—that was a red flag that something was going to be derailed. And so, what we understand from the South Korean side is that Bolton was insisting that biological and chemical weapons were to be part of the package. And so North Korea obviously shifted their position and called for full lifting of sanctions.

quote:

CHRISTINE AHN: Well, I mean, there are two things that give me hope in this current moment. One is, I mean, actually, the rapport, if you actually see the rapport that Trump and Kim have established. I mean, you need the leaders of the two countries to have good rapport. And clearly there is something there.

And, you know, the fact that Trump said two things in his press conference really surprised me. One was, he put a dollar bill, the amount, a price tag, on the U.S. war drills. He said they cost $100 million. It’s a huge waste of money. The other thing he said was that the sanctions harm the people of North Korea and that he wouldn’t be adding more new sanctions. I think that’s a great outcome. It’s a great foundation. But we need to continue to build on it. We need to push for it.

The other thing that obviously gives me hope is that the peace—the historic peace that’s taking place between North and South Korea. The Korean people want an end to this Korean War. Nine out of 10 South Koreans want a declaration to the end of the war. They have made tremendous progress.

quote:

AMY GOODMAN: Christine Ahn, you were among hundreds of women who wrote a letter jointly to Donald Trump and to Kim Jong-un, calling for peace and saying peace women should be at the table. Can you explain?

CHRISTINE AHN: Absolutely. I mean, I think right now the fragility of the talks shows that we have to democratize this process. We can’t leave it just in the hands of Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. It needs to have—it’s not just a war, a 70-year war, between the leaders of the two countries. We have had generations of propaganda. We’ve always seen North Korea through a prism of war. And we need to have people-to-people engagement. That is what’s going to bring genuine peace.

And we know that when women are included in the peace process, it leads to a peace agreement—and not just a peace agreement, but a really durable one. And when half the world’s population isn’t part of shaping a peace agreement that reflects the desire of half the world’s population, it’s not going to, obviously, be a just and sustainable one. So we’re demanding that there is a process that includes civil society and that includes women’s rights groups, because we have seen the record. In 40 conflicts around the world, in all but one case, when women’s groups were involved in the peace process, it led to a peace agreement. And we want to see denuclearization. We want to see peace. We want to see the improvement of human rights. We’ll never get there, until there is a true peace, until war is taken off the table.

The U.S. and South Korea have canceled their upcoming annual joint military exercises in a move that’s likely to ease tensions with North Korea, which views the exercises as a provocation. The move comes days after the highly anticipated summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un fell apart without a deal or any substantial progress made on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The U.S. and South Korea will instead engage in much smaller-scale and less publicized drills. Trump said canceling the massive military exercises will save the U.S. hundreds of millions of dollars.

North Korea has contradicted President Trump’s explanation of why talks in Hanoi between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un came to an abrupt end Thursday. Speaking to reporters, Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho said North Korea had asked for only partial sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon.

Ri Yong-ho: “Our proposal was that we will permanently dismantle all of our nuclear material production sites, including plutonium and uranium facilities, in the Yongbyon area, as a joint work by engineers from both countries and in the presence of experts from the United States, if the U.S. lifts the sanctions that affect our people’s livelihood.”

The statement contradicts President Trump’s claim that he walked away from the talks after North Korea demanded total relief from sanctions in exchange for disarming the Yongbyon facility.

"...What was particularly puzzling about the summit was the manner in which the negotiations were conducted, that is, there were no negotiations at all, not really. The Trump delegation simply listened politely to Kim's offers, scratched their chins and then rejected them without debate or counter-proposals. In other words, the whole summit was a fraud..."

John Bolton won. After a short period of calm and talks between the US and North Korea both sides are again walking towards a conflict. The US has not fulfilled its side of the bargain. The US continues to walk away from the Joint Statement Trump signed in Singapore and is back to making threats..."

Full Obedience or Tougher Sanctions: US Says North Korea's 'Step-by-Step' Denuclearization Unacceptable